


New Home

by sonderwalker



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28923618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonderwalker/pseuds/sonderwalker
Summary: After recently taking a ten-year-old Luke from Tatooine to Coruscant, Vader tries his best to be the father that he wished he had at that age.And when Luke gets sick for the first time since arriving on Coruscant, they finally get to have more than a spare moment together.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Comments: 18
Kudos: 107





	New Home

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic for the OT aaaaaaaaaaaa please leave comments!

Vader stood in the doorway. He shouldn’t be this nervous. But he was. He was unsure of how to handle dealing with a child- never mind his own child.

And Luke was cautious, guarded around him. His son was shy- but hadn’t he been as well at that same age?

When he was that same age, he had also left Tatooine, in the promise of a better life. It turned out to be a lie, but he wouldn’t let the same thing happen to Luke.

He promised.

He continued to stand there, staring at the bed in front of him. Luke was small for his age, but it was nothing that any of the doctors were concerned about. However, this was his first winter on Coruscant, and it seemed that his son hadn’t been adjusting well to the weather so far.

“Father?” Luke asked as he pushed himself up to look at Vader. His hair stuck up in odd places, and his eyes were half closed. He couldn’t distinguish colors through the lenses of his helmet, but he was sure that Luke’s cheeks were flushed, and that he was probably paler than usual.

Probably.

He wasn’t really sure. Everything to him just appeared as shades of red. Just as he wasn’t sure how to deal with the situation in front of him now. He stepped forward, unsure of what to say.

Luke’s room looked like what Vader assumed any other child’s room his age would look like. There were holobooks and toys scattered about, ship models on the desk and posters of planets he wanted to see hanging on the walls. He wasn’t fond of the imperial palace, it held too many memories. But his master had insisted that he and Vader stay on Coruscant, and Luke seemed to be enamored with the endless city.

So, they stayed.

“I’m here, Luke.” He replied, cursing at the vocoder that probably didn’t make him sound any more inviting. But Luke seemed to relax anyway as he sat up more and rubbed his eyes.

“What time is it?” Luke rasped as he sniffled.

“That shouldn’t be of your concern.” Vader replied.

“You should only be concerned with getting better.”

“But I’ve been in my bed for almost the entire day!” Luke exclaimed and then turned to the side to cough into his elbow.

“And there is a reason for that, young one.” Vader said. He was hesitant to get any closer. Would Luke be able to infect him with whatever he had? Could that cause his lungs to become even more damaged? Would Luke even want him to get any closer?

“I don’t wanna be in bed, I wanna look at the ships in the hangar.” Luke retorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. Vader was shocked at the response. Typically, he could only get smaller phrases or sentences, and Luke never talked back.

But perhaps he was feeling comfortable enough now that he was voicing his opinion. That’s what Vader hoped for, but it could also be that his son was unwell enough that it was affecting his mood as well.

“You can look at ships in the hangar once you are well again.” Vader replied. Luke huffed and sniffled again.

“But there isn’t anything to do in here.” He mumbled after a moment.

“That is because you are supposed to be resting.” Vader pointed out.

“But what if I wanna watch something, or play with something, or talk to you?” Luke asked as he looked up at him with big blue eyes.

He sniffled again. How was Vader supposed to say no? He was a sith lord, but when his son asked him to stay and spend time with him, it melted his heart.

Or, what remained of his heart at least.

“I do not think that I am exactly the best person to hold a conversation with.” Vader admitted, feeling a mix of things pool in his stomach.

“Well, maybe not,” Luke began, “But you’re still my father either way.”

“That, I am.” Vader replied. The vocoder didn’t pick up any of the changes in his tone- the mask made it impossible to convey emotion through his facial expressions, but through the force, through the strong bond that he already had with his son, he hoped that he could sense the affection.

And when Luke smiled softly at him, he knew that he could. But when his son turned away to sneeze again and the subsequent shiver that ran through him, Vader’s worry spiked again.

“I’m fine.” Luke said after a moment.

“I will believe that when you can pronounce ‘fine’ properly, young one.”

Luke huffed again, his shoulders slumping.

“But I don’t wanna go back to sleep.” He whispered as he looked down. After a moment he looked back up at Vader, a shy expression on his face.

“Could you tell me a story?” He asked after a moment. “Maybe what you were like when you were my age?”

Vader stiffened. He didn’t want to relive those days. He didn’t want to reflect. He needed to move on and keep moving.

But Luke was asking.

“I’m sorry, I know you said not to ask about your past.” Luke said after a moment, looking down again.

If Vader could still sigh, he probably would right now. Instead, he just squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.

Not that Luke saw him do that anyway.

“Perhaps we can talk about something else.” Vader suggested.

“Like the new TIE fighter model that is going to be released soon.”

“Okay!” Luke exclaimed his voice cracking but his eyes brightening back up.

And so, they sat there and talked, Luke asking almost as many questions as Vader had answers. He was pleased to see that his son had the same love of starships that he did- and still had. But eventually, Luke began to run out of energy, and he slowly slid back down underneath the covers of his bed.

“’m not tired.” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“I disagree.” Vader said, and couldn’t help but smile, even though it hurt to do so.

“Wanna learn more about flight controls.” Luke said as he curled back up into himself again.

“Perhaps you can learn more tomorrow.” Vader suggested, reaching out to touch Luke but he hesitated. Unsure if it was the right thing to do. Unsure if Luke would want this.

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Luke mumbled softly as his breathing evened back out. And Vader stayed, watching as his son slept and watching as the sun set behind the windows. Wondering how despite everything else, he ended up being so lucky to have Luke.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!


End file.
